Pippa Middleton, sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watches the doubles final on day eight of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London on November 27, 2011.

Photograph by: Glyn Kirk
, AFP/Getty Images

A year after Kate Middleton became a royal, the person whose life has changed the most may actually be her sister.

Recently named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world, Philippa "Pippa" Middleton — younger sibling to the Duchess of Cambridge — has gone from being virtually unknown outside of Britain to one of the most photographed women on the planet. In fact, Google Canada reports that she has now surpassed Prince Harry as the most-searched royal sibling, at times even trumping Angelina Jolie and Justin Bieber in terms of online interest.

The attention, however, hasn't come without a price.

"The absolutely remorseless attention she's getting is extraordinary," says Catherine Mayer, Time's Europe editor. "There was this feeling about Kate that she was a social climber, just out for getting the prince. But the moment she got engaged, the press that had been open in their snobbish hostility toward her immediately switched to Pippa."

This month especially, the 28-year-old has been Frankenstein's monster to the media's torch-bearing villagers, thanks to a bizarre series of events in Paris: first, her appearance at a risque costume party, then later having her male companion wave a gun — ultimately revealed as a toy — at their paparazzi pursuers.

An editor with the U.K. Sun went so far as to say the incident derailed all the "time, effort, money and logistics put into media-managing Kate."

But even before so-called Gungate, Mayer knew the younger Middleton's inclusion on Time's Most Influential list would be controversial, if only because the culture is so hard on females who don't come to power on their own steam.

"Women are massively underrepresented in the media. . . . Then, of course, when women do come to attention in public life, it's often for reasons that we may be inclined to think of as the wrong ones," says Mayer, hastening to note the double standard.

"Nobody would ever say we shouldn't have Kim Jong Un on the list just because he inherited North Korea."

Middleton first set tongues wagging at her sister's 2011 wedding to Prince William, in no small part due to a bridesmaid dress that made her more famous from the back than the front.

The next 11 months would see the launch of numerous fan sites dedicated to the socialite; speculation about a romance with Prince Harry; a handbag named "The Pippa"; her "royal mocha" tan dubbed the most desirable celebrity skin tone; a reported $600,000 publishing deal for a book on party-planning, due on shelves in October; and a six-figure bidding war for her first major television interview.

But not every royal-watcher is swept up in Pippa mania.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the fascination is, aside from the fact she's an attractive young woman with a connection to the royal family," says Josh Traptow, Alberta spokesman for the Monarchist League of Canada. "I also think it's a bit surprising that Pippa is leading such a public life, rather than being low-key — although I'm sure after this latest incident (in Paris), her sister and perhaps even Prince William will be having a little chat with her."

Lynne Bell, who has been covering royal tours in Canada for nearly 20 years, says Middleton has essentially become a proxy for the Duchess of Cambridge: she's similar in age, shares the same ladylike taste in fashion, and is the antithesis of the sleazy tabloid stars familiar to North American culture vultures.

"People are absolutely crazy for Kate," says Bell. "And, of course, the default is Pippa, who's still single."

Bell, a contributor to Majesty magazine, suggests the fact Middleton speaks so little in the press is part of her allure, as it "allows people to project onto her." This insight is consistent with Time's description of her as a latter-day Mona Lisa, always smiling mysteriously but known for keeping mum.

Certainly, there have been stumbles along the young woman's road to influence, from photos painting her as a party girl to the recent incident in France. But Bell believes these things to be comparatively tame next to the exploits of those other famous sisters, the Kardashians.

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